


Out of Time

by Hades_Lord_of_the_Dead



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Resurrection, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 15:26:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18471730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hades_Lord_of_the_Dead/pseuds/Hades_Lord_of_the_Dead
Summary: In the distant future, Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life. But where is Watson in all this? Cross-posted from my FF account.





	Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> A response to the prompt 'Time Travel' from Domina Temporis on FF.net for the December Calendar Challenge I run there.

His mind sparks back into life and the first thing he sees is the fashion. He cannot yet move, but there are materials he has never known before and styles he could never have imagined. Some parts he recognises from his own era and these, he is later informed, are 'retro'. He supposes, wryly, that he is 'retro' too.

Therapists and handlers are assigned to help him assimilate. They teach him the things that were once his future, but are now history. Laws he thought immutable are apparently not so. Gender, race, class... Humanity has redefined itself and reset the boundaries of all of these. Language has also altered and in the early days they record everything he says, before the newer accents and colloquialisms of this age start to seep into his speech. Eventually, they show him Watson's stories. Books are also different now, all on one screen, but nonetheless his fingers tremble as he holds this legacy in his hands, the legacy Watson created for him.

He takes the tube when he visits Baker Street, the carriages somewhat reminiscent of the trains of old, although of course they are not powered the same way. He intends to visit a museum which the lab staff have informed him is there, but he does not even make it off the platform before his attention is arrested by the familiar illustrations that decorate its walls. He smiles tremulously, remembering when he sat for Paget all those centuries ago, and when he catches sight of the silhouette, complete with ridiculous hat, he laughs out loud. To think that this endured, above all else. He shakes his head and decides the museum can wait.

There are two handlers with him the next day, one female and one non-binary. His deductive skills have been sorely hindered by his lack of exposure to this new world, but it's not too hard to figure out from the love bite on their neck and the bags under their eyes that the non-binary handler is hungover. The female handler, more mature and more alert, ignores their frequent yawns and begins the session by asking Holmes how his trip to Baker Street was.

"Illuminating."

"Oh? In what way?"

"It gave me an opportunity to reflect on what I want with this new life. I want you to revive Watson."

Her eyes widen and, at her side, her colleague chokes mid-yawn.

"Sherlock..."

"Mr Holmes," he corrects, firmly. This is one thing he has been most insistent upon. Whatever the norms of the day, no one but his closest family have ever referred to him by his first name. "I know there must be ethical considerations around this experiment that I am not aware of and I appreciate that might make my request difficult. However, I would point out that I was never asked for my consent in being brought back."

"Your consent?" the hungover handler exclaims, unable to stop them-self. "You mean you'd rather be dead?!"

"I do not wish to pursue legal action," he continues calmly, "but I may be left with no alternative."

"But that's-!"

The female handler hushes her colleague and bustles them both out of the room, with a hasty promise that they "will look into it of course Sher... er... Mr Holmes!"

When the female handler returns, sans her hungover colleague, she is with a scientist and a lawyer. They are also both women - there seems to be an abundance of women these days - and introduce themselves as Octavia and Yolanda respectively. Holmes is growing thoroughly sick of first names.

"I'm here to offer legal advice," Yolanda explains, sitting in an armchair to his right. The room is not quite Victorian, not by a long-shot, but they have at least avoided the minimalist styling of the rest of the building, with its white walls and clean edges. There are several armchairs in this room, a rug, and even a (solar-powered) fireplace. "I'm a third party, entirely separate from the lab, so feel free to ask me any questions you like Mr Holmes."

Mr Holmes. He decides that he likes Yolanda and nods his assent.

Octavia, nervous, perches in an armchair opposite while the female handler hovers awkwardly in one corner. "The issue of consent that you've raised is, of course, a serious one-"

"No," he interrupts with a raised hand. "As I explained to your colleague-" The female handler flinches. "-I want you to revive Watson."

"Oh." Octavia's forehead creases as she considers this. "But... if you're worried about a lack of consent for test subjects, then why...?"

"No, not consent." He resists the urge to groan as he is suddenly reminded of Lestrade back in the Inspector's early, bull-headed days. "I only asked about the consent because... well because-"

"I believe my client felt that if his demands were not met regarding the revival of his friend, then he might be forced to take legal action regarding your laboratory's ethical practices," Yolanda interjects, with a quick glance to her left. "Is that correct, Mr Holmes?"

"Correct." His lips twitch into a triumphant half-smile as Octavia squirms a little in her chair. Yes, he definitely likes Yolanda.

It takes time, but of course Holmes has far more of that than he had ever expected. The government is already debating what is considered proper use of the new revival technology - who should be revived? For what purpose? Holmes learns that the decision for him to be the initial test subject (that is, the initial human test subject following the return of several extinct species to the planet), was due to a report Octavia herself authored and submitted to the governmental scientific select committee. Within this she classified him as, 'a cultural treasure, whose reintroduction to modern society would serve to educate and inspire'. He is shocked to learn he beat out William Shakespeare, among other candidates.

"Consider how disorientating it was for you, then add an extra 350 years on," Yolanda comments wryly. "And you're a lot smarter than Shakespeare too, so they probably thought that would help with the rehabilitation."

Yolanda develops an argument that Watson, as the author of the stories which catapulted Holmes to fame, is as much a 'cultural treasure' as Holmes himself. At her request, Octavia adds the lab's recommendations citing Holmes's emotional well-being and stability as reason enough to bring back Watson. The end of the report is a little too emotional for Holmes's tastes, but Yolanda assures him that this particular excerpt will be a deciding factor in their success. It reads,

'Mistakes are inevitable in scientific experimentation, but I deeply regret overlooking the sudden emotional upheaval likely to emerge from any given subject's transition into such a new and drastically different environment. Therefore, we must not only consider the cultural and educative value which Doctor John H Watson is sure to bring to society, but the ongoing care and rehabilitation of Mr Sherlock Holmes, who has himself requested that Doctor Watson be revived. For those of you familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories or adaptations, ask yourselves - what is Holmes without Watson? It was cruel of us to think we could bring back one without the other, and I cannot recommend strongly enough that we set out to rectify our mistake as soon as possible."

Despite the sentiment, Yolanda is right. The government committee sanctions Watson's revival within the week. Holmes is so grateful, he tells her to drop the 'Mr' and refer to him as simply 'Holmes' in future.

"Take this." She hands over a card with her name and contact details on it. "They'll teach you how to use it to get in touch. I'll be back in a month or so anyway. I want to meet this Doctor Watson for myself."

"And he will want to meet you," Holmes assures, shaking her hand as they part ways. "Thank you, Yolanda."

"You're welcome, Holmes."

When he considers that someone of Yolanda's gender and ethnicity (she is mixed race, Deutsch-Spanish on her mother's side and Jamaican on her father's side) could never have reached her true potential when he was first alive, it makes him ache a little less for the 1800s. Truly, home to him now is not a time or even a place. It is but one, very important person. He cannot wait to show Watson the wonders of this modern era and he imagines, perhaps a little egotistically, taking him to the Sherlock Holmes museum.

Yes, Holmes thinks as he finally falls asleep. They will go together and see first hand the lasting impact his dear Watson has left on the world.

~*~*~*~

His mind sparks back into life and the first thing he sees is Holmes.


End file.
